Still. 7 points (5G 2A) in 10 games is not bad. It has him tied for third in the league in goal scoring and 22nd in points.
He's also the best U20 player in points, so yeah, great potential in that prospect.

Per wrote:
I disagree. Morrison never really came across as spectacular, but he has always made the wingers on his line sparkle like diamonds. One of the most under rated players in the NHL. As for being a defensive player, hell yeah, when you centre a line with two wingers who can't spell defense and are surprised to learn there's a goalie on their team, as they've never been close enough to see him.

A real inside scoop there. I can do that too.

Brendan Morrison was a 60- 70 point center playing with two of the NHL's best wingers at the time. He was an average 2nd line pivot......hardly one of the NHL's most under rated players. He scored at a 40-50 point pace when playing with other players. He was along for the ride.

My original point was that I wonder how many points Naslund and Bertuzzi would have put up with a legit # 1 pivot like say a Forsberg, Sakic, Lindros, Thornton, Modano, Sundin, etc.

Imagine how many pts would have been racked up if Gretzky signed here instead of NY and lined up w/ Bure and Mogilny as his wingers. That was the plan until it all unravelled. Pavel wouldn't have asked for a trade after that year I can tell you that.

ClamRussel wrote:Imagine how many pts would have been racked up if Gretzky signed here instead of NY and lined up w/ Bure and Mogilny as his wingers. That was the plan until it all unravelled. Pavel wouldn't have asked for a trade after that year I can tell you that.

Meh.... Pat Quinn fucked that all up by putting pressure on the great one to sign asap. Unlike Mark Messier who kind of mailed it in when he signed here, Wayne Gretzky was still playing the game at a high level and like you say he would have lit it up playing with Bure and Mogilny.

According to most people though Bure had asked to be moved multiple times a couple years before that, so I have doubt that he would have changed his mind because Gretzky signed here .

ClamRussel wrote:Imagine how many pts would have been racked up if Gretzky signed here instead of NY and lined up w/ Bure and Mogilny as his wingers. That was the plan until it all unravelled. Pavel wouldn't have asked for a trade after that year I can tell you that.

Meh.... Pat Quinn fucked that all up by putting pressure on the great one to sign asap. Unlike Mark Messier who kind of mailed it in when he signed here, Wayne Gretzky was still playing the game at a high level and like you say he would have lit it up playing with Bure and Mogilny.

According to most people though Bure had asked to be moved multiple times a couple years before that, so I have doubt that he would have changed his mind because Gretzky signed here .

I think part of the reason he wanted out was the Canucks let Larionov go for nothing and never got him a true number 1 center to play with. If he clicked w/ Gretz I'm certain that would have rekindled his fire.

btw It wasn't Quinn who did that, it was one of McCaw's right hand men....and I don't believe it was McCammon, was the other clown. Quinn was pissed off....it led to his being fired.

Per wrote:
I disagree. Morrison never really came across as spectacular, but he has always made the wingers on his line sparkle like diamonds. One of the most under rated players in the NHL. As for being a defensive player, hell yeah, when you centre a line with two wingers who can't spell defense and are surprised to learn there's a goalie on their team, as they've never been close enough to see him.

A real inside scoop there. I can do that too.

Brendan Morrison was a 60- 70 point center playing with two of the NHL's best wingers at the time. He was an average 2nd line pivot......hardly one of the NHL's most under rated players. He scored at a 40-50 point pace when playing with other players. He was along for the ride.

My original point was that I wonder how many points Naslund and Bertuzzi would have put up with a legit # 1 pivot like say a Forsberg, Sakic, Lindros, Thornton, Modano, Sundin, etc.

OK, the guys you mention were clearly better than Morrison. No question. But I do not think Morrison dragged the others down. Au contraire. What did Nazzy score in his best NHL season not on a line with Morrison? 66 points. Not shabby, but nowhere near what he scored playing with BMo. Same goes for Bertuzzi. His glory days were the years that he had Brendan as a centre.

I basically think that that line had some marvellous chemistry, in which three players that weren't really complete completed each other. Nazzy was a great sniper, but with a fairly one dimensional play. Bertuzzi was a great power forward but with occassional brain farts and poor defensive game. Morrison was a good playmaker, albeit not quite as good as the bona fide allstars you bring up, and with a defensive game that made up for Nazzy's and Bert's complete lack thereof. Each player brought something that helped create the sum of the WCE, and whereas Nazzy and Bert always get credit for the part they played, I maintain that Morrison isn't as appreciated as he should be. I mean the three more or less constantly played together, yet their franchise career +/- is +45 for BMo, +2 for Nazzy and +3 for Bert. How did that happen?

It can also be mentioned that Nazzy, albeit a superstar playing next to BMo, never flourished when playing for Sweden (apart from that one WJC where he played with Forsberg and Niklas Sundström). Nor did he amount to much in Pittsburg or with the Rangers. Bertuzzi's crash and bang and Brendan's smart passes helped make him the man he was in Vancouver. Without them he wasn't half the player he was when playing with them.

I'd have to disagree. If anything, I think it was Nazzy who was the main cog that made the WCE so good. Nassy started to come to his own in the 98-99 season with 30+ goals and 60+ points, whereas Bert and Mo didn't really put up big numbers till like the 01-02 season. Naslund was an accomplished player like 3 seasons before Bert and Mo were considered top players. Before the WCE days, Nazzy bounced around with different guys like Messier, Cassels, Mogilny and he held his own. I remember when Nazzy first started getting confidence and find his scoring touch, he was on a line with Brandon Convery and Bill Muckalt. No doubt Nazzy played his best hockey with Bert and Mo and no doubt those 3 complimented each other very well. However, I think it was Nazzy who carried those 2 guys into front line players.

Per wrote:It can also be mentioned that Nazzy, albeit a superstar playing next to BMo, never flourished when playing for Sweden (apart from that one WJC where he played with Forsberg and Niklas Sundström). Nor did he amount to much in Pittsburg or with the Rangers. Bertuzzi's crash and bang and Brendan's smart passes helped make him the man he was in Vancouver. Without them he wasn't half the player he was when playing with them.

ClamRussel wrote:I think part of the reason he wanted out was the Canucks let Larionov go for nothing and never got him a true number 1 center to play with. If he clicked w/ Gretz I'm certain that would have rekindled his fire.

btw It wasn't Quinn who did that, it was one of McCaw's right hand men....and I don't believe it was McCammon, was the other clown. Quinn was pissed off....it led to his being fired.

Alot of that was common knowledge. The LA & transfer payment fiasco...the 'he should get paid' during the lockout clause etc. It was amazing how many times he asked to get traded....and how poorly this organization treated the only true superstar they ever drafted & developed. The guy sold tickets. The guy saved the organization. The guy brought entertainment on a whole other level. First Canuck to ever hit 50 goals, 100 pts and win a major NHL trophy. You'd think they would have treated him like the meal ticket he was instead of trying to 'put him in his place'.

ClamRussel wrote:Alot of that was common knowledge. The LA & transfer payment fiasco...the 'he should get paid' during the lockout clause etc. It was amazing how many times he asked to get traded....and how poorly this organization treated the only true superstar they ever drafted & developed. The guy sold tickets. The guy saved the organization. The guy brought entertainment on a whole other level. First Canuck to ever hit 50 goals, 100 pts and win a major NHL trophy. You'd think they would have treated him like the meal ticket he was instead of trying to 'put him in his place'.

It's not just Bure case they bungled, that management team of Quinn, Mc Phee and Burke- I remember all of them being guilty of negotiating contracts in the media. Mcphee running Linden's name through the mud on the radio, Once I remember standing next Burke at Vancouver International arrivals near the baggage carousel listening to him run Linden saying he was a bum to whom ever he was with ignoring the fact that he was in a public place and could be easily overheard. (now that I know more about Burke I am not surprised he would turn anywhere into a soap box, the loud mouth fat fuck)
Then there was Gretzky wisely running from a near contract signing with Quinn acting like a goddamn idiot in the middle of the night... its was a gong show by comparison to the way things are done behind closed doors now.

You think the fans deserve better from this lockout/ i think we deserved a fuck load better out of the plate of spaghetti era ....iamrite

Fred wrote:Wasn't it BB that pulled the trade to bring Linden back .... a draft pick. Funny the difference between public and private comments

Apparently he learned something along the way, but bringing linden back was a no brainer IMO not exactly genius level management there. I think it's been said already by Blob but as far as I'm concerned Keenan was the best GM in player aquisition we have had until this one and the jury is still out on Gillis...